King James

The problem with a senior transfer bug guy is that every team in the country is interested in them. They have their pick of offers and will tend to select schools expected to make the postseason since it is their last chance to make it.

It would be nice, but it would never happen. Kids these days are well coached and will rarely say anything negative about a school they decided against. Not only is it not classy, but you want to keep in good graces as a possible transfer spot if things don't work out at the school you picked.

If he makes the jump, sounds like it would be to the Bulls rather than the T-wolves.

By definition, isn't every kid that attends Prep recruited? How is that illegal? I sure wasn't... Of course, I was a guy on the bleachers cheering when it came to hoops...and later the Huskers. Well someone was recruited on your behalf then! Since private schools don't have a natural geographic neighborhood for which they get kids automatically, every kid is essentially recruited in some way (advertising, etc.) I didn't go to prep, but I did go to a private school. Believe me, my junior high years I was inundated with recruiting materials and solicitations from every private school around and I was no athlete!

By definition, isn't every kid that attends Prep recruited? How is that illegal?

Yeeaaahhh ... No. Nope. This kid was forced out. I don't know where you come up with guaranteed four year scholarships, but they aren't. They're renewable but a scholarship is a 1 year deal and if it's not renewed, the school just has to inform the player by sometime around the beginning of July of that year. And how do I know Leon was forced out? Because the decision was leaked to the media before he or his family knew, as indicated in the quote from his mother that I posted above. My comments about "four year scholarships" was based on certain conferences saying that they would make all scholarships 4 year scholarships going forward. I can't recall if the Big 10 was in this group, but I remember Delaney specifically advocating for it.

I'm not sure anybody on any team is really forced out anymore. I think they meet with the coach and the coach says, "Hey, you are welcome to stay, but I don't see you playing much. I could understand if you want to look around." Kid thinks about it and decides that not getting to play at all isn't that much fun and decides to look around. Let's be frank - for the most part, these kids are going to school to play basketball. Despite Pitchford's one day protestations to the contrary, that is why they picked a school in the first place. When Pitchford retracted his statement and announced he was entering the NBA draft he said, "basketball is my life." I think that thought is shared by just about every D1 scholarship player. They want to play. Outside of walkons, who really wants to stick around and not see any playing time when you know there is a place you can go and play and continue to live out your dream? By the way, that is why the whole "guaranteed four year scholarship" thing is no big deal for schools to offer. The schools and coaches know that the number of times they will really have to honor that for kids who don't perform is very, very miniscule.

My guess is that Pitino put more emphasis on guys who could play defense. We know what that's like. Great comparison! Stats from those games would seem to indicate that he is slow or has trouble moving his feet on defense or, I guess worst case, is just lazy defensively. With the emphasis placed on D by this staff, it is hard to believe that a kid that couldn't see the floor at Louisville because of defensive lapses, and may have been encouraged to transfer despite a lack of returning players at his position, would find a lot of love at Nebraska.

Prayers for the family for sure. Does Terran have any siblings? Family is usually the best in situations liek these because everyone suffered through the same thing.

True, we don't need another headache. Although, it seems like even headaches can get their shpit straight for a season or so. Look how Harris performed his first season at Prov after transferring from NC State. He was better that first year. He could be better again. Not questioning his skill set at all - he is a high major player for sure. It just seems strange that in the same year that Providence is losing one of its best wings in LaDonte Henton, Cooley does very little to try to convince Harris to stick around.

There is some baggage with Harris. Rumors are that he was a locker room headache (which in part might explain why Cooley is letting him go).

I do not understand why so many discussions about concerns somehow turn into a referendum on Miles. I think it is perfectly reasonable to be a little concerned about hearing about 2 to 3 departures from rotation players, especially heading into year 4. For some in this thread and others to say that this puts Miles anywhere near the hotseat is pretty dumb IMO. Likewise, for someone to say that just because somebody may have some concerns at this point, they are not being loyal to Miles is unfair. You can both have concerns and still support the coach.

Had there not been news of Ptichford's quitting the team/opting for the NBA it wouldn't have been surprising to find out that Hammonds was transferring IMO. The fact that he couldn't get many minutes last year when one big guy had a chronic injury and the other had a limited offensive game, may or may not speak volumes, but it is concerning. I think adding a big man for this fall is job A1 for Miles at this point.

I thought Sunrise was the Juco?

Suspect they were trying to land a recruit before having this info go public.

Hate Mo's philosophy and style, but doesn't he deserve credit for the landing of the Chicago recruits?

Are we thinking that the Pitchford news caused a change in plans? Maybe the staff decided that one or more of the big guys needs to stay around instead of looking to play closer to home?

From a few pages back. Does anybody know if Pitchford is a deeply religious man?

Recruiting bigs in the spring is always a mess. There are so few of them left, and so many teams need them, that guys are pretty regularly overvalued as compared to where they place in the fall.

Other than Arop, what other D1 caliber kids are in those classes? Is the other Agau D1 caliber?

I can't help but wonder more and more if Pitchford will be back.

That is what I figured. The rise of club sports has put an end in large metro areas to the multi sport star that dominated while I was in high school. Top tier athletes in Omaha are highly encouraged to specialize in one sport at earlier and earlier ages. The club seasons tend to take them away from being to play other sports even if they wanted to. Nowadays, this is what you get: boys and Girls Basketball - year round Baseball/softball - spring, summer & fall girls volleyball - year round (has kept many of the girls that played both volleyball and basketball from being able to play both) I think it is sad that top tier athletes in larger metros don't get to play everything they want, but the truth is that if they don't play the club teams their skill levels often fall behind their peers. The growth of top tier youth programs in larger areas is going to make it more and more difficult for kids from more rural areas to compete in the sports listed above as the years go on.

Take it from a born and raised Omaha kid....who went to Creighton Prep! There are tons of us Omaha kids that prefer the Huskers. GBR This. Omaha is Husker country. If there is a Omaha kid both schools are going after NU is going to win most of the time. Just like we do in baseball. Nebraska usually wins the baseball battles, but baseball is probably not a true comparable as there are very few full ride scholarships. Remaining tuition and finding an ability to pay it will always be an issue for families with baseball players unfortunately. I think that is part of the reason why there are so few african american kids playing baseball any longer as parents steer their kids toward football and basketball instead with the hopes of college scholarships. (Title IX really, really hurts baseball more than perhaps any other men's sport). It is surprising that Lincoln doesn't produce more division 1 basketball players. Could that be due to football casting such a large shadow? I admit that I know little about Lincoln. How do the youth programs in Lincoln compare to the programs in Omaha?